Knitting

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A Cute Butterfly for New Knitters

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knit butterflyIf you’re teaching a child — or, heck, an adult — to knit over the holidays, or you’re a new stitcher yourself, I’ll bet you’ll like this little knit butterfly tutorial from Knitting Image.

These little bugs are made out of little bits of knitting that are lightly shaped, but you could probably do the same thing with a square made by a newer knitter. What a charming reminder of a first knitting project that would be!

Even knitters who’ve long ago progressed beyond simple shapes will love these little butterflies, which would be great as decorations on bags or used on hair clips. If you know a little girl I’m sure you can come up with a ton of reasons to knit them.

They’re also the perfect way to use up tiny bits of yarn and leftover buttons. What could be better?

[Photo via Knitting Image.]

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Comments

  1. I am glad you are enjoying the butterflies, if you don’t fancy using wire then sew the butterfly body to your project and darn on some antennae and top with tiny buttons! Jane x

Have you read?

Knit and Felt Some Tabi Style Slippers

The felted slipper craze that began last year doesn’t seem like it’s fading away. The Sailor Slippers, often striped knit and felted slippers made with super bulky yarn, because the project of the moment late last year (check out more knit slipper options in this post all about sailor slippers) and they’re still consistently popular with knitters.

Which makes sense because they are fun and fast to knit, and seeing them go from this giant thing to something that actually fits a foot feels a little magical. 

I have always loved felting (in fact my first book was about felting knitting) and it’s always fun for me to see people rediscover this technique. 

If you’ve knit enough plain slippers to fit all the feet you know, maybe it’s time to stitch up some tabi style slippers instead. 

Maymade Knits has designed these cute tabi ballerina slippers, made with bulky yarn and felted. They’re worked flat at first and then in rounds, and are available in 10 EU sizes (the Internet tells me add 31 to your American shoe size to get your EU size). The designer says the slippers are meant to have a close fit and you should choose a size a little smaller than your foot for the ideal fit. 

The pattern includes a video tutorial along with the written pattern. 

You can grab this pattern on Ravelry. The same designer has her own version of the striped felted slipper as well, called Sarah’s Striped Slippers. These are worked in super bulky yarn and have a contrasting foot and a striped body. These are knit flat and seamed and there are 7 size options available. Check that pattern out here if you’re looking for a more traditional slipper shape. They also look roomier so you can wear them with socks if you like. 

[Photo: Maymade Knits]